One Boy's Flight to Mas Oyama's Japan: Uchi Deshi - Book One

Mere teenagers at the start,Judd Reid (Australia), Nathan Ligo (USA), and Nicolas Pettas (Denmark) were theonly 3 foreign uchi deshi (private residential students) ever recognizedby Mas Oyama with certificates from his grueling Young Lions' program. Afterenduring overlapping periods of 3 years each, Judd and Nick would become formidablefighters, proponents of a training style that reached its pinnacle in the 1990sand gave equal weight to body conditioning in the pursuit of tournamentvictory. But Nathan Ligo, "the American," the most unlikely of the three,reached just short of 600 days in the 1000-day program and disappeared in thenight, unable to face Mas Oyama at the moment of his collapse.  What had happened? Why did heleave? And why did Mas Oyama, who'd had more than 100 foreign uchi deshi forshorter periods of time, select only Nathan for an honorary certificate ofcompletion? What was it about Nathan's raw personal struggles, and the path hechose in response--combining academic learning and writing with what wouldbecome 25 additional years of karate training experiences around the world--inwhich Mas Oyama saw a spark worthy of uplifting? Mas Oyama's intent for hisforeign uchi deshi was always that they would return to their countries,reintegrate socially, and propagate Budo Karate at home. Could he see thathaving felt such bitter failure, Nathan would now never break his vow todedicate his life both to teaching karate in America, and to the daily inner struggle that Mas Oyamataught should be at the core of Kyokushin? One Boy's Flightforms the more intimate side of anatural trilogy with Judd Reid's TheYoung Lions and Nicolas Pettas's Blue-eyed Samurai. What was lifereally like in the Young Lions' Dormitory? What were the sensations, the hopes,the fears - the dangers! - the pleasures and the pain? What was it like tolearn directly from Mas Oyama, every single day, for hundreds of days on end?Who was Judd Reid in his first 500 days, and Nicolas Pettas in his first eightmonths, after they arrived in Japan to begin their training? Who was Nathan Ligo whospent more days as Mas Oyama's personal student than any other American? If you'veread either Judd's book, or Nick's, and still hunger for a read that will drawyou in and show you what it actually felt like to be Mas Oyama's uchi deshi,you will find that book here in this first installment of a saga that willcontinue as Nathan, a classically trained writer, revealsto you, on a completely different level, life in the Young Lions'Dormitory.     Read more